UNCLASSIFIED
INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Delegation was directed by Luther Reid of the Department of Slate. Howard C. Brown, Jr., of

the Division of Biology and Medicine, Atomic Energy Commission, served as Director for

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Administration. A total of 571 persons, not including local hires, was required to carry out
the United States presentation.
Results of the Conference. In the opinion of the United States representatives and of
spokesmen of many countries, the Conference was an outstanding success in bringing together

for the use of all] the nations of the world information on the scientific and technical advances
made in the peaceful uses of atomic energy since the 1955 Conference. A vast amount of new
technical ir.formation on all phases of peaceful uses of atomic energy was revealed. Although

the Conference produced no sensational news of scientific “breakthroughs,” it did supplement
the world’s store of technical data on the peaceful uses of atomSc energy with information
unknown or unavailable In 1955. New and promising uses of atomic energy were brought to
light, and the tremendous increase in atomic energy activity in all parts of the world was
described. The Conference served to temper the impression, widespread at the time of the

1955 Conference, that the production of economic power from fission and fusion would be ob-

tained quickly. Although the delegates from many nations expressed their confidence in the

ultimate achievement of economic power from the fission process, and even later from the

fusion process, several of the smaller countries announced that earlier plans for the construc-

tion of nuclear power plants had been reduced in scope or extended further into the future. At

the same time, however, the large and serious representation at the 1958 Conference from
nations desirous of establishing their own programs demonstrated the ever-widening interest
in attainment of economic civilian atomic power,
A detziled report on the Conference will be included in the Commission’s Twenty-fifth
Semiannu2l Report to the Congress.

The s2ccess of the Second Geneva Conference led to informal discussions of the desira~bility of a third scientific meeting of this type. While some delegates expressed the opinion
' that the Conference was too large and too ambitious in attempting to cover all of the rapidly
growing field of atomic energy, many more recognized the great value of a general conference
in bringing together scientists from many nations and disciplines. By the time the Conference
closed it appeared that a third conference was a strong probability, with only the date to be
determined. Francois Perrin, the Conference President, suggested that a third conference be
held in 4 years, provided that satisfactory means could be found to limit its size. In their
closing press conference, the United States chief representatives stated that they would
recomme=d to their Government “that steps be taken at the next meeting of the appropriate

agency of ~he United Nations to propose another conference of this general character in

another th.ree-year period.” (End of UNCLASSIFIED section.)

DOE ARCHIVES

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